The British Columbia government has hired a former Ontario cabinet minister and CEO of Legal Aid B.C. on a lucrative contract to advise the premier on the future of the Downtown Eastside.
Premier David Eby’s office confirmed Michael Bryant was appointed to the consultancy in February on a six-month contract worth $150,000.
“What they really wanted was some fresh eyes to provide them with some feedback on what is working, what isn’t working, and most importantly whether the plans the province has underway and the commitments the province made during the election are going to make sense and what is the best way to roll out these next steps,” Bryant told Global News in an interview on Monday.
“So for the last three months, that is what I have been doing.”
That interview came after Bryant refused to answer questions on Saturday.
Global News made several attempts to connect with him last week at his drop-in office at the Overdose Prevention Society after hearing from Downtown Eastside stakeholders who raised questions about the purpose of his job, his salary, and why his appointment wasn’t announced publicly.
“I have not been secret about meeting with folks and trying to get tours of SROs, of the not-for-profits providing service, Insite, the Overdose Prevention Society, the municipal, provincial, federally funded services around harm reduction, as well as a host of stakeholders,” Bryant said on Monday.
“What matters is what the government delivers in terms of next steps and the impact that it has, and how exactly that gets put together, the transparency on that front is one for the government to decide, but I am happy to do this interview and talk about what I have been doing.”
Along with the salary, Bryant’s contract comes with a $25,000 expense account, the premier’s office told Global News in a statement.
Upon becoming premier in 2022, Eby said the province would take over running a coordinated approach to address issues in the Downtown Eastside.
“Mr. Bryant was chosen for this policy work due to his legal background and lived experience,” the statement reads.
“The intent was to announce this appointment earlier, regrettably this didn’t happen.”
Between 2008 and 2009, Bryant served as a cabinet minister in the Ontario Liberal government, holding portfolios including Attorney General, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Minister of Economic Development.
In 2009, he was charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving causing death after an incident that left Toronto bike courier Darcy Sheppard with a fatal head injury.
In a controversial decision, the charges were later withdrawn and the case never went to trial.
Years later, he served as executive director for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association before his appointment as CEO of Legal Aid B.C., a position he held between January 2022 and April 2024.
Bryant maintains his job is to come up with concrete recommendations to improve the situation in the city’s beleaguered Downtown Eastside in the near term.
“The government and the public doesn’t need a DTES czar, another expert. Rather, they want some action. And that’s what I was retained to do and get it underway and get it happening as soon as possible,” he said.
“The question becomes what can we do next that will have the biggest impact and achieve some measure of healing and recovery for people on one hand, continue to deliver the harm reduction services, continue to deliver the social services, provide the housing first that this government has undertaken, but also get the federal government to come in and do their job.”
It’s unclear if Bryant could be in line for a permanent government position after his contract expires in August.
— with files from Rumina Daya